Unruly Spheres
Entangled within the Earth’s five natural spheres—the lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, and atmosphere—is a sixth: the technosphere. Identified by geologist Peter K. Haff as an emerging paradigm of the Anthropocene, the technosphere is the material expression of industrial production, development, and extraction. It includes feedlots and sewer systems, factories and housing, seaports and data centers, highways and croplands. Although critical to many aspects of our survival, the exponential growth of the technosphere is actively destabilizing the five spheres upon which its existence depends. The Sixth Sphere exhibition explores not only how the built environment operates at a planetary scale, but also how design can participate in systems of interdependence, reciprocity, and transition. In response to the environmental and social injustices caused by climate change, this exhibition explores how design thinking can expand beyond traditional spatial and temporal scales to approach the terrestrial in scope and complexity. Through speculative designs, images, and models, The Sixth Sphere positions the technosphere as a collective site to reconstruct our social, technical, and climate futures.
Contributors:
(AB)NORMAL, aldayjover architecture and landscape, Alexandra Arènes, Andrés Jaque / OFFPOLINN + Miguel Mesa del Castillo, Debbie Chen, Common Accounts, DESIGN EARTH, Dogma, GRANDEZA STUDIO, HOME-OFFICE, Olalekan Jeyifous, Studio Muoto, NEMESTUDIO, Present Future, Curtis Roth, TAKK, Territorial Agency, Z4A Architects
Graphic Design:
Studio Lin
Sponsors:
Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts
Rice University Office of Research
The Sixth Sphere is the first installation of the new curatorial program of the Rice School of Architecture: Exhibitions at Rice.
Biography:
Brittany Utting is an assistant professor of architecture at Rice University and co-founder of the design and research collaborative HOME-OFFICE.